Editorial Reviews
Review
“Startt has previously written a biography of E.P. Bell, Journalism's Unofficial Ambassador (1979), and with William David Sloan, a communications textbook, Historical Methods in Mass Communication (1989). Here he again combines his interest in history and journalism. His principal focus is narrow: the response of the "stately press" to the debate over empire in the decade before WW I. Startt's "imperial journalists" are J.L. Garvin, John St. Loe Strachey, J.A. Spender, and writers and editors at The Times. Using archival as well as published sources, he traces their public and private attitudes toward tariff reform, Chinese labor and political reconstruction in South Africa, and the search for imperial cooperation. Start aptly connects his subjects with broader developments, and his writing is lucid. The result is an excellent insight into the journalism of the Edwardian era and its relationship to politics. Journalists for Empire is useful in itself and as a supplement to other studies, e.g., volume 2 of Stephen Koss's masterful The Rise and Fall of the Political Press in Britain (London, 1981). Bibliography and index are good. Upper-division undergraduates and above.”–
“Startt has produced a readable, well-crafted, book, which makes an important contribution to the subject from a new angle. In a critical retrospect, he points out that the later Commonwealth turned out to be very different from the system which these committed Edwardians hoped for.”–
“His impressively researched and well-written book makes clear that an intellectual Fourth Estate still had a solid place in British journalism during the first decades of the twentieth century.”–
“Professor Startt . . . explores two significant aspects of Edwardian society: the nature and quality of serious journalism, and certain issues relating to the British Empire, skillfully blending them into a perceptive and informative narrative. . . . This fascinating book will be of interest to historians and journalists alike. It is highly recommended for academic and public libraries.”–
Book Description
This book presents a thorough discussion of the 1903-1913 public debate involving the self-governing dominions of the British Empire, and the role that a number of renowned journalists of the quality press played in that dialogue. The work of such writers as James Louis Garvin, John St. Loe Strachey, and John Alfred Spender is examined in relation to the contemporary issues of tariff reform, South African reconstruction, and imperial unity. Among the other topics addressed are the roles of the quality press in Edwardian public debate and the public press in political journalism.
Journalists for Empire: The Imperial Debate in the Edwardian Stately Press, 1903-1913 (Contributions in Comparative Colonial Studies)
Journalists for Empire: The Imperial Debate in the Edwardian Stately Press, 1903-1913 (Contributions in Comparative Colonial Studies),James D. Startt,Greenwood Press,0313277141,20th century,Alien labor, Chinese,Attitudes,Europe - General,Great Britain,History,History - General History,History: World,Imperialism,Journalists,Press And Society,South Africa,Tariff,World - General,History / Europe / General
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